Columbus continues to lead the mid-west in cutting edge, culinary-driven restaurants.  Here are a few chefs who are forging the way in Columbus restaurants.

David Tetzloff
Executive Chef David Tetzloff has been creating southern-inspired dishes at G. Michael’s Bistro for over 10 years. His approach to food is to make everything from scratch and use only fresh ingredients to craft memorable ‘low country’ fare. Tetzloff attended the University of Miami of Ohio, where he received a bachelors of arts degree. During college, Tetzloff worked in several restaurants and his passion for the kitchen was ignited. He went on to receive his classical culinary training at Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina in 1996. After working at various restaurants, Tetzloff landed the position of sous chef at G. Michael’s and he has since worked his way up the ranks. Each season, Tetzloff alters the menu at G. Michael’s to reflect innovative and unique ways to highlight the produce of the season. A main standout on all his menus is pork, with a signature item being the southern fried pork chop.

Thomas Smith
Rated as a top Columbus Restaurant by the Columbus Dispatch for nearly a decade, the kitchen at the Worthington Inn is known for its elegant menu that speaks volumes of its executive chef, Thomas Smith. This Pennsylvania native chef learned to cook under his grandmother’s apron strings yet he went the route of the United States Air Force before starting his career in the Columbus restaurant scene. Instead of attending culinary school, Smith decided he would gain more experience by working under some of the best chefs at a few of Columbus’ top restaurants, including Alex’ Bistro, Lindsey’s and Rigby’s Cuisine Volatile. As a major supporter of the farm to food movement, Smith assembles a menu that features local produce whenever possible. Smith has been manning the kitchen at the Worthington Inn since 2002 and his cuisine is described as global with strong French and Italian influences.

Alex Gosetto
Classically French trained chef Alex Gosetto first opened Alex’ Bistro in Columbus in 1985. This bistro style eatery reflects the style of Gosetto’s childhood in Lyon, France. Gosetto first got his taste in the kitchen by learning from the women in his family. He attended the French L’Ecole Hotelerie de Nice and following graduation took a position at the Washington D.C. Hilton. He met his wife in the United States, who happened to be from Ohio, and after numerous trips to the state to visit her family, Gosetto decided it was time to relocate to Columbus and open a restaurant of his own. The concept behind Alex’s Bistro is simple and reflects Gosetto’s philosophy regarding food—keep it fresh and keep it seasonal. The menu has heavy Italian and French influences and perfectly showcases Gosetto’s classical culinary training, particularly in the chicken and seafood crepes that are served bubbling hot and filled with mouthwatering fixings. Further supporting Gosetto’s craftsmanship, many of the top restaurants throughout Columbus are run by chefs that were trained by Gosetto himself, making him somewhat of a ‘pioneer’ on the Columbus food scene.